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“Paul is a beautiful human being,” he said. “I can’t understand how anyone could do this to him.

“We run a little bar together and we both work very hard at it. It is successful and fun. It is part of the London cabaret and drag scene — we love our little bar.”

When asked if he believed the attack was linked to the establishment, Mr Anderson, 52, said: “I have no idea. That is a matter for the police.”

The bar, in Aldwych, central London, is described on its website as a “cult cabaret bar” which was “once the West End’s most salubrious cottage [and] supposedly the haunt of Wilde, Orton, Gielgud and Crisp”.

Mr Kohler, a father of four daughters, is also head of law at the School of Oriental and African Studies. He has taught law at University College London and New College Oxford and is a chief examiner at the University of London and a member of the Bar Standards Board.

He answered the door of his home at 10pm on Monday. He was knocked to the ground by the men who then straddled him while punching him in the face and shouting: “Where’s the money?”

The attackers also hit his wife Samantha, 50, covered her face and threatened to tape her to a chair. She was forced to listen to the five-minute onslaught.

Mr Kohler’s daughter Eloise, 24, and her boyfriend heard the attack from upstairs and called police after locking themselves in a room.

The gang fled with items such as laptops and mobile phones but they were later recovered by police after the attackers discarded them. A large kitchen knife was also found nearby.

Mr Kohler remained in hospital last night. He has already had reconstructive surgery on his shattered eye and forehead. His family is waiting to learn if he will lose his sight.

Mr Kohler’s brother Marcus described him as a “strong leader”. He said he believed it was a case of mistaken identity and that the attackers got the wrong house.

“We’re hoping he will be out soon,” he said. “He will have to go back for operations on his face.

“Paul has lived in south London all his life, he is a Crystal Palace season ticket holder and well-known in the community. We are not going to let this stop that.”

Describing the injuries, he said: “Seeing him was unbelievable. His face is like a flower blooming – it’s changing colour every day because of the bruising.”

One suspect, Mariusz Tomaszewski, 32, of Tooting, who is originally from Poland, has been charged with grievous bodily harm and burglary and remanded in custody after appearing at Wimbledon magistrates court on Tuesday.

A second Polish man, Pawel Honc, 23, of no fixed address, appeared at the same court yesterday charged with the same offences.